ROBEY

A very nice piece of musichall ephemera: a signed self-caricature by one of its leading lights. See Robey’s entry in the Oxford DNB. On a 7 x 8.75 cm piece of card, cut from a plain printed postcard. In good condition, lightly aged, with traces of the four paper label mounts on reverse. On the front, which is entirely plain apart from Robey’s writing, is his Autograph Inscription, in a close hand with stylized signature: ‘Good luck. Geo Robey.’ This is at the foot of the page, beneath a well-executed self-caricature in blue and red ink.

2pp., 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. She expresses 'heartfelt sympathy' at 'the loss of our darling old Herman. How we all loved him & what a dear & true friend he always was to me. I am terribly sorry at his going'. The word 'Answered' is written at the head. Violet Loraine's signature song was her duet with George Robey, 'If I were the only Girl in the World'. Finck's 'In the Shadows' was one of the last pieces played by the orchestra on the Titanic.

2pp., 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged and creased. After beginning 'Dear Popie / | How are you?' she asks what the 'immediate prospects' are for her to 'get a book and a series in the paper running', as she has 'scanned a tremendous amount of George's material' since moving to 'The Lawns'. In a postscript she describes the material as a 'wonderful story for T.V. too to say nothing about the films!', adding that she has 'got G. to record a lot of his old & recent material ready!' Macqueen-Pope was an admirer of Robey's, as his 'The Melodies Linger On: The Story of Music Hall' makes clear.

ONE: The earlier of the two drafts, titled 'It Was Top of the Bill | The Story of Music Hall. | by | W. Macqueen-Pope.' 14pp., 4to. Paginated 1-12, with two further pages carrying material to be inserted. With a few autograph emendations, including an addition to the ending. Macqueen-Pope writes knowledgeably and with a passion for his theme, which is that 'Music Hall reflected public taste even more accurately than did the "legitimate" Theatre because it was created by the people themselves. The basis of the Drama of the Theatre - was religion.

On one side of page removed from autograph album, roughly 14 x 18 cm. Very good, on lightly-aged paper. An accomplished head-and-shoulders self-caricature, with Robey directly facing the viewer, his eyes to his right, a smile on his face, a red nose, the customary tiny hat perched on his head with tufts of hair sticking out over the ears, long neck and collarless shirt. Good, firm signature in bottom left-hand corner: 'Geo. Robey.' Also included is a newspaper cutting of a photograph of Robey. The National Portrait Gallery owns five of Robey's self-caricatures.

On a leaf of cream paper, 8.5 x 12 cm, part of a bifolium taken from an autograph album. Very good.